Throwing More Light on False Copyright Claims in Genealogy
Dr. James Ramaley continues discussion of false copyright claims raised in earlier article (Examining False Copyright Claims), answering additional reader questions: Exactly what is copyrightable in genealogy? How can a person protect against further copying of his or her work (copyrightable or not)? What is the harm in inserting a copyright notice even if the work is not copyrightable? Click here to read full article.
Genealogical Sleuthing: How Much Is That Worth Today?
HOW MUCH IS THAT? What was the value of a U.S. dollar in 1895? Worth of the UK pound from 1830 to 2004? Genealogists will have fun playing with the "Relative Value" options available here. For example, if great great-grandpa's U.S. estate was worth $300 in 1832, what is it worth in 2003 dollars (the most recent year available)?
Answer: In 2003, $300 from 1832 is worth:
$6,409.63 using the Consumer Price Index
$6,672.88 using the GDP deflator
$67,354.24 using the unskilled wage
$124,932.02 using the GDP per capita
$3,316,130.48 using the relative share of GDP
http://www.eh.net/hmit/
(Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 14 December 2005, Vol. 8, No. 50)
North Dakota Death Index
Now Available Online
The time period covered is 1 January 1881 through 31 October 2005, with monthly updates. The website is maintained by the North Dakota Department of Health's Division of Vital Statistics. Many early deaths were not recorded and there are few deaths listed prior to 1900.
The website is the result of an 18-month project by a committee composed of staff from the State Historical Society of North Dakota, the North Dakota State Genealogical Society (NDSGS) and the North Dakota Department of Health's Division of Vital Statistics. The website was made possible by funding and support provided by the NDSGS, which received an initial grant of $1,000 from the North Dakota Community Foundation. The NDSGS was then able to raise more than $2,000 in matching funds/donations from other genealogical societies and genealogists from North Dakota and other states.
The North Dakota death index website can be found at: https://secure.apps.state.nd.us/doh/certificates/
deathCertSearch.htm.
(Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 7 December 2005, Vol. 8, No. 49)
The Dreams of Our Forefathers: A History of the Greek Orthodox Church of Holy Trinity of Charleston, South Carolina
The first wave of immigrants to appear in Charleston was during the early twentieth century although there were a few who came in the nineteenth century. Charleston's first Greek immigrant was Maria Garcia Turnbull who came to Charleston with her husband, Andrew Turnbull in 1781 after the failure of an effort to establish a permanent colony in New Smyrna, Florida. In 1908 the first Greek Orthodox liturgy was performed in St. John's Episcopal Church at the corner of Amherst and Hanover Streets by the Reverend Arsenios David of Savannah, Georgia. After that services were held at a house at the corner of Calhoun and Coming Streets by the Reverend Ioachim George. Click here to read entire article.
The Spirit of Kalivas Park [Manchester, New Hampshire]--Book by Spiros Plentzas and Dr. Chris Kehas
At last there is a nicely written account of the creation and dedication of Kalivas Park in Manchester, NH, a site dedicated to the memory of Christos Kalivas, the first Greek-American from Manchester killed in World War I. The establishment of the park was well researched, and the account includes copies of relevant documents and photos from the dedicatory ceremonies. But what sets this book apart from others of its kind, is the additional research conducted, placing the founding of the park within the broader history of the local Greek community.
Click here to read more.
Counted Twice in the Census
Finding an ancestor in the census brings satisfaction to any researcher, but finding one person twice in the same census is a sure source of confusion or disbelief. Still, twice in researching my husband's . . . family, census records have delivered a double count for a single individual.
Finding two double counts in census records involving the same family is probably unlikely, even in a highly mobile society. However, this experience . . .[indicates] that census enumerations may be affected by short-term changes in residence, as well as by the enumerator's hearing and handwriting.
Click here to read entire article.
100 Years of Faith and Fervor, of Greeks in Salt Lake City
Today, first and second generation Greek-Americans whose roots are in the thriving Salt Lake Greek community are the beneficiaries of a legacy of hardy Greek immigrant laborers, including many who are prominent in business, political, social, educational, ecumenical, legal and medical circles locally and nationally.
That evolution is chronicled in the book entitled 100 Years of Faith and Fervor, published by the Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Salt Lake City, produced as part of the centennial celebration of the community. Available Nov. 1 (176pp, oversize, $29.95), through the church and by mail. Click here for contact info and complete release.
Canadian Genealogical Databases Online
A number of Canadian databases are now available to researchers. These include data from vital statistics, military, immigration, naturalization, census, and other valuable record areas.
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/genealogy/
022-500-e.html
Finding West Virginia Vital Records Online
You can now search and view scanned images of original West Virginia birth, death, and marriage records from six counties, as well as most statewide death certificates from 1917-54 at http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/
FamilySearch Archive has scanned and indexed these records and the West Virginia Division of Culture and History is hosting them online. The database has more than 3.5 million names linked to 1.4 million original images of birth, marriage, and death records from Calhoun, Gilmer, Hardy, Harrison, Mineral, and Pendleton counties.
The record dates vary by county and type of record, but typically range from 1816 to 1929. Birth records are for the period 1853-1930, county death records for 1853-1969/1970, and county marriage records from the creation of the county until the late 1960s -- all of which are searchable by name, county, and date.
West Virginia plans to add records from additional counties in the future.
(Excerpt reprinted with permission; Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 23 November 2005, Vol. 8, No. 47)
Black Book: The Tragedy of Pontus, 1914-1922 [large PDF file, 16199 Kb, containing entire pamphlet, Adobe Acrobat required to view]
The Black Book: The Tragedy of Pontus is invaluable for its historical and genealogical information. This pamphlet details the numbers of Pontic Greeks killed in each village by the Turks, with some lists of actual names, and eyewitness accounts of massacres and genocide. Compiled in Athens in 1922, it serves as valuable testimony to the crimes committed. Although copies of this pamphlet are rare, there are about a dozen in the U.S. and Europe. Printed bilingually (English and French) in Athens in 1922 for the Central Council of Pontus, the aim of the pamphlet was to disseminate publicly the details of an irreparable loss of culture, history, and human life. The copy made available to readers by HCS has been supplied, with permission, by Princeton University. Click here to view the pamphlet [large pdf file--16.2 Mb--Adobe Acrobat needed to view].
